Michigan State Football: Mark Dantonio's Alligator Prank Goes Horribly Wrong

The Michigan State Spartans prepared for their thrilling Outback Bowl victory at a local high school in Tampa, Fla., and head coach Mark Dantonio thought it would be a good idea to play a prank on the team, but it didn't go so well.

In fact, it turned violent after a freak accident. 

According to the Detroit Free Press, Dantonio wanted to give his players a treat, having a guy dressed like a Spartan football player wrestle with an alligator. 

It was supposed to be harmless, as they hired a professional. However, the handler slipped and fell before he could tame the alligator, which prompted the seven-foot reptile to take a bite out of the handler's leg. 

Dantonio told the paper his reasoning on having the live alligator at practice. 

"

We always build a theme around the football season a little bit. One of our themes has been listening to Muhammad Ali videos, when he talks about getting ready to fight George Foreman or whatever. In the video, he talks about doing new things, he's been chopping down trees, he's been tussling with the whale, he's done wrestled an alligator. Handcuffed lightning and threw thunder in jail.

"

He then said that some of his players had joked they had accomplished such feats this year, so Dantonio wanted to see them live up to their word and take down a monster alligator. 

The Spartans' head coach had planned to ask senior captain Trenton Robinson to wrestle the gator since he had been bragging about doing so. 

Of course, the professional was going to take care of it all along until the accident occurred. 

"We're trying to make life moments down here," Dantonio said. "We wanted to do something they'll remember the rest of their life. I think they'll remember that one."

It's understandable where Dantonio is coming from with the idea of this prank, and you can't blame him for wanting to do it. 

After all, a professional was on site to handle this, and it's just unfortunate things didn't go as planned. 

It does make you wonder if the Ohio State Buckeyes had the same logic as they prepped for the Gator Bowl against the Florida Gators. They more than likely would've backed off after hearing that. 

Michigan State went on to beat the Georgia Bulldogs in triple-overtime, thanks to some missed field goals by the Bulldogs. It was the first bowl win for Dantonio. 

The Spartans gained many memories at the Outback Bowl, and the alligator is probably a close second to the amazing comeback victory.